Author : Dr.Saroja A.S
Dr. Saroja A.S retired as the Principal of Government Law College,Thiruvanathapuram in the year2015.She also served as a principal for Government law college Ernakulam and Government law college Thrissur.Dr. Saroja enrolled in 1983 and practiced with her father the legendary Sri K.Ananthasivam at Kollam. She soon joined academics where for almost 25 year’s law society and students have looked to Dr. Saroja, as one of the prominent names, engaged in providing credible legal education in India . Currently she is working as an Adjunct guest faculty in Maritime law in Kufos Ernakulam.In addition to this,she is an integral part of Law and Justice Research Foundation .
Hon’ble Justice V.R.Krishna Iyer the doyen of social justice needs no introduction to the legal world.He was committed to the cause of the oppressed and suppressed, the one who humanized India’s top court from colonial tradition and developed a unique jurisprudence that helped common man access to justice.
It was his dreams that justice should be delivered at the door step of the common man.This commitment to social justice was always staunch from the beginning.His judgments are proof of his contributions to the evolution of the modern Indian judicial system.He brought revolutionary changes through his judgements.The Kerala Land Reforms Act provided legal protection to the actual tiller of the land.The Triple Test pointed by him in the Bangalore water supply case remains as one of the landmark judgements in labour law.
Justice Krishna Iyer identified the provisions in the Indian Penal Code and Code of Criminal Procedure relating to the law of public nuisance and interpreted them in the Municipal Council Ratlam v. Vardhichand case[AIR 1980 SC 1622].Firstly, as far as the statutory obligation goes, the municipality cannot shy away from its responsibility in violation of its rule book/legislation which puts a positive duty on it.Secondly, the court considered the aspect of public nuisance in contravention of Section 133. of CrPC.
He was against capital punishment. He considered it inhuman and believed in the retrospective theory of punishment.His concern for the prisoner was great and this was reflected in many of his judgments.In Sunil Batra Etc vs Delhi Administration And Ors [(1978) 4 SCC 409], the petitioner sent a letter to the Supreme Court judge and thus was accepted as public interest litigation. In the letter, the petitioner showed concern about the poor living conditions and questionable treatment of inmates at the jail. Justice Krishna Iyer observed “Karuna is a component of Jail Justice. Basic prison decency is an aspect of Criminal Justice.’ He elaborated on the guidelines for the exercise of power by police authorities under Section 56 of the Prisons Act, 1894, which deals with empowering the Superintendent to take necessary precautions by putting the prisoners in irons.Therefore, this ruling conceptualized the idea of the freedom of prisoners behind the prison and the need for peace in the prison.
In Prem Shankar Shukla vs Delhi Administration [(AIR 1980 SC 1535)], the court held that handcuffing of under-trial prisoners would be done only in exceptional cases. Justice Krishna Iyer said, “When they arrested my neighbour, I did not protest. When they arrested the men and women in the opposite house, I did not protest. And when they finally came for me, there was nobody left to protest”,If one day the rights and freedoms of one person are entrusted to the police, the other day many can lose their freedom and no one will whine.
Justice Krishna Iyer once observed:
“Every saint has a past and every sinner a future, never write off the man wearing the criminal attire but remove the dangerous degeneracy in him, restore his retarded human potential by holistic healing of his fevered, exhausted or frustrated inside and by repairing the repressive, though hidden, the injustice of the social order which is vicariously guilty of the criminal behavior of many innocent convicts. Law must rise with life, and jurisprudence responds to humanism.”
His articles and judgments marks out his inimitable style of writing.Thus his contributions are multi dimensional.He contributed throughout his life towards social justice,human rights,prison reforms,legal aid etc…He believed judiciary should be as democratic as the other two pillars of the constitution .He can be referred as “Bhisma Pitamah” of the Indian judiciary.
In spite of all these contributions of this super judge outstanding to the society and legal sysytem.One grievance I want to highlight in this article is: Why the Kerala government did not sufficiently honor him in his native land when the whole world is full of adoration for this great man?
So I think that the idea of taking over his Kochi house and using it for purposes more helpful to humanity and to develop it to Justice V.R. Krishna Iyer Memorial Centre is indeed a laudable venture.I take this opportunity to congratulate the LJRF team for their initiative and endorse all moral support.
Best Wishes
Dr.Saroja A.S
